Assistant Policy Officer

Assistant Policy Officer
Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Devon
About Us
Dartmoor National Park Authority is the body that oversees the vibrant, living, working landscape and community that is Dartmoor National Park.
With the breath-taking landscape, iconic wildlife and beautiful villages, we work to conserve and enhance all of Dartmoor’s special qualities, supporting the associated businesses and communities in partnership with local and national stakeholders.
We protect and maintain natural habitats and areas of ecological significance across Dartmoor, maintain public access to this beautiful space, provide the ranger service and act as the planning authority.
We are now looking for an Assistant Policy Officer to join us on a full-time, permanent basis.
The Benefits
- Salary of £27,334 - £31,364 per annum
- Flexitime working arrangements
- Generous annual leave entitlement
- Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
- Based at our stunning HQ on the National Trust’s Parke estate near Bovey Tracey
The Role
As an Assistant Policy Officer, you will play a key role in supporting and delivering our planning activities as the planning authority for Dartmoor National Park.
Specifically, you will support the work of the Forward Planning and Economy service in the preparation and delivery of our Partnership Plan. You will also assist in a range of planning functions related to the local plan for Dartmoor.
Supporting the wellbeing of communities throughout the National Park, you will help to plan how we mitigate and adapt to climate change.
You will monitor Local Plan policies and actions, co-ordinate the evidence base for policy development and assist in monitoring climate change objectives.
Additionally, you will:
- Carry out surveys, studies, and appraisals
- Prepare project briefs, reports and invitations to tender for surveys, studies and appraisals
- Collate, analyse and prepare State of the Park information
- Provide advice on planning policy
- Contribute to web content, social media and publications and helping with events
About You
To be considered as an Assistant Policy Officer, you will need:
- A degree-level qualification, ideally in Town and Country Planning or a related environmental, geography or natural or social sciences discipline
- A working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Excel and GIS applications and general ICT skills including those associated with data analysis, presentation, web and social media
- A high level of literacy to A level standard or equivalent
- A current, valid driving licence
Knowledge of relevant planning legislation would be beneficial to your application, as would an understanding of the role of National Park Authorities. Knowledge of local plan production, the procedures that need to be followed and the documents that underpin the production of policy plans would be advantageous. And an advanced ICT skill set related to design and statistical software packages will be also helpful in this role.
Previous Local Government experience of working in Planning Policy and Development Management would be desirable, as would a sound understanding of planning issues including those relating to minerals and waste issues. Experience of dealing with the general public, agents, elected members on planning policy matters would be equally favourable.
Other organisations may call this role Graduate Policy Officer, Planning Policy Officer, Graduate Planning Officer, Graduate Planning Policy Officer, or Graduate Planner.
This is the ideal role for a graduate with ambitions of developing a career in planning and environmental policy to get their foot in the door of our organisation and help us to successfully manage our much-loved National Park.
In this role, you’ll have the chance to learn all there is to know about planning and managing change in a national park to achieve conservation and enhancement through superb on-the-job training and plenty of professional development activities.
So, if you are eager to join an organisation that supports local communities, the rural economy and our beautiful Dartmoor landscape, we want to hear from you!